Joseph Cattarinich was the co-general manager of the Club de Hockey Les Canadiens, along with Jack Laviolette, during the team’s inaugural season in 1909-10 as a member of the National Hockey Association. Born on November 13, 1881, in Lévis, Cattarinich began his career in Montreal first as a defenseman, then as a goalie.

The third player to play the position in team history, he allowed 23 goals in three games in goal for the Canadiens. As the team’s co-general manager in 1910, Cattarich maintained a record of two wins and 10 losses. He retired as a player following an 11-5 loss at the hands of the amateur Chicoutimi Sagueneens on February 17, 1910.

Cattarinich, though, had taken note of the goaltending prowess of Chicoutimi’s Georges Vezina and he recommended him to the team’s owner, who signed Vezina to a contract with the Canadiens on December 26, 1910. On November 4, 1921, Cattarinich purchased the Canadiens along with Leo Dandurand and Louis Létourneau for $11,000.

Cattarinich won three Stanley Cups as the team’s owner in 1924, 1930 and 1931. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977.